Finalists include superintendents from Florida, Georgia, Maryland and Texas

Alexandria, Va. – Jan. 8, 2014 – AASA, The School Superintendents Association, announced today the finalists for the 2014 National Superintendent of the Year. This year marks the 27th anniversary of the program, which honors school systems leaders throughout the country.

Carvalho became superintendent of the nation’s fourth largest school system in September 2008. A versatile leader, he is the self-appointed principal of two award-winning schools—the Primary Learning Center and the iPrep Academy. He also served as president of the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents. Miami-Dade Public Schools was the winner of the 2012 Broad Prize for Urban Education.

Grier became the Houston Independent School District’s superintendent of schools after a unanimous vote of approval by the district’s Board of Education in September 2009. Under his watch, HISD’s dropout rate has decreased to its all-time low (11.8 percent) and its graduation rate has increased to its all-time high (78.5 percent). HISD was the winner of the 2013 Broad Prize for Urban Education.

Maxwell was named chief executive officer of Prince George’s County Public Schools in July 2013. Before joining PGCPS, he served as superintendent for Anne Arundel County Public Schools, a position he held since July 2006. In this role, he was responsible for the oversight of all aspects of operating, staffing and evaluating the 47th largest school district in the United States. An advocate for the arts, he was honored in 2010 as Arts Education Advocate of the Year by the Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance for his efforts to enhance arts education programs in Anne Arundel County, which included the opening of the county’s first Performing and Visual Arts magnet school at Bates Middle School.

Taylor has served as superintendent of Calhoun City Schools for the past six years. Prior to this appointment she served as an assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, instructional coordinator, media specialist and classroom teacher. Under her guidance over the last six years, the Calhoun City Schools has experienced increased academic advancement and achievement. The school system is proud to have the third highest system average graduation rate in the state with a rate of 94 percent. In 2003, the graduation rate was 67 percent.

“Aramark sincerely congratulates the four finalists and all of the state winners for their outstanding leadership, commitment and contributions to K-12 education” said John Kandemir, vice president of marketing and strategic development, Aramark Education. “As a longtime supporter of AASA and a proud partner of the K12 community, we are honored to recognize the remarkable work of superintendents throughout the nation. By delivering exceptional educational experiences, they are truly ensuring promising futures for our children.”

“The individuals we are honoring have created positive learning environments in school districts in their communities,” said John Kevin, vice president, K-12 Markets, VALIC. “We are proud to join Aramark and AASA in recognizing educational leadership that has translated into game changing teaching and learning in school districts across the country. We thank these superintendents for the work they do.”

“AASA is grateful to Aramark and VALIC for helping us bring recognition to some of the best school system leaders our profession has to offer,” said Daniel A. Domenech, executive director, AASA. “It’s reassuring to know that these superintendents continue to build solutions to address the critical challenges facing our schools. Congratulations to the finalists and all of the state Superintendents of the Year for the tremendous work that they do. It’s an honor to be associated with them.”

The AASA National Superintendent of the Year program is open to all U.S. superintendents who plan to continue in the profession. The program also honors Canadian and International School superintendents. The applicants were measured against the following criteria:

Leadership for learning – creativity in successfully meeting the needs of students in the school system.

Communication – strength in both personal and organizational communication.

Professionalism – constant improvement of administrative knowledge and skills, while providing professional development opportunities and motivation to others on the education team.

Community involvement – active participation in local community activities and an understanding of regional, national and international issues.

A $10,000 college scholarship will be presented in the name of the 2014 AASA National Superintendent of the Year to a student in the high school from which the superintendent graduated, or the school now serving the same area.

To help support the K-12 educational mission, Aramark Education provides a complete range of food, facility, uniform and other support services to more than 500 school districts in the U.S. Aramark Education offers public and private education institutions a family of dining and facility services including: on-site and off-site breakfast and lunch meal programs; after-school and summer meals; catering; nutrition education; retail design and operations; maintenance, custodial, grounds, energy management, construction management, and building commissioning. For more information on Aramark’s K-12 food and facility services programs, please visit www.aramarkschools.com.

About VALIC

For more than half a century, VALIC has served as a leading retirement plan provider for K-12 schools and school districts, as well as for higher education, healthcare, government and other not-for-profit institutions. As of August 30, 2013, VALIC has more than $79 billion in total assets under management and manages plans for nearly 25,000 groups serving nearly 2 million plan participants. VALIC represents The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries, VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc. and VALIC Retirement Services Company. For more information on VALIC, please visit www.VALIC.com.

About AASA

AASA, The School Superintendents Association, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. AASA’s mission is to support and develop effective school system leaders who are dedicated to the highest quality public education for all children. For more information, visit www.aasa.org. Follow AASA on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AASAHQ or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AASApage. Information on AASA Children’s Programs on Twitter @AASATotalChild.